1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a card holding device for use with shopping carts and, more particularly, to a holder attachable to a shopping cart and having an open top with a liftable floor which rises to allow for the easy removal of greeting cards, magazines, or other articles held within the holder.
2. Description of the Background Art
It is a common practice for shoppers to utilize shopping carts for holding and transporting products while shopping. Shopping carts are wheeled vehicles pushed by shoppers through grocery stores. They allow for the purchase of a greater number of products than one could otherwise carry.
When products to be purchased are placed into a shopping cart, they normally contact one another. A problem arises when liquid or frozen products are placed in the cart in contact with dry products. When this occurs, moisture from the exterior surface of a liquid, frozen or otherwise wet product contacts and inadvertently dampens a dry product. This can damage certain types of dry products.
One solution to the problem is for the shopper to carefully position the products within the shopping cart so as to preclude dry and wet products from contacting one other. Such positioning, however, is a great inconvenience to the shopper who is often constrained by a desire to shop rapidly.
Perhaps the greatest inconvenience of such moisture damaged products occurs when greeting cards, magazines, or other paper products are purchased along with other normal products. When paper products get wet, they are rendered unacceptable for their intended purposes. One solution might be to simply hand carry the cards. Another solution might be to place the cards in a pocket or purse. Such solutions, however, are unacceptable since they run the risk of the shopper leaving the store without paying for them.
A wide variety of techniques are either employed commericially or are disclosed in the patent literature for carrying various types of products. Notes, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,577,298 to Roeller which discloses a container with packages or parcels for use in association with baby carriages. Note also U.S. Pat. No. 2,673,671 to Williams which discloses a container for coupling with a restaurant bus cart. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 2,633,278 relates to a container specifically designed to hold bottles within a grocery cart. U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,567 discloses a container for coupons adapted to be attached to a shopping cart.
In addition to the foregoing, U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,502 to Cohen discloses a nestable basket for use with nestable shopping carts and the like. U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,994 to Holland also discloses a coupon organizer for use with a shopping cart. Further, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,702,402 to Ferri and 1,739,801 to Pitts discloses holders for paper.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. Nos. 110,379 to Ludlam; 1,334,717 to Silverman; and 1,917,480 to Widing all disclose containers with mechanisms for moving, or allowing the moving of, one article within a container with respect to the other articles.
As illustrated by the large quantity of background art and commercial devices, efforts are continuously being made in an attempt to improve shopping carts and containers for use therewith. No prior effort, however, suggests the present inventive combination of component elements arranged and configured as disclosed herein. Prior shopping cart containers do not provide the benefits attendant with the present invention. The present invention achieves its purposes, objects and advantages over the prior art through a new, useful and unobvious combination of component elements, through the use of a minimum number of functioning parts, and through the use of only readily available materials and conventional components.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a shopping system comprising a shopping cart having a basket for receiving and holding products to be purchased, a frame with a handle at the upper rear end, and wheels beneath the frame for effecting movement throughout a market, the shopping cart also having a pivotable seat with a vertical section and horizontal section for a child at the rear end of the basket; and a holding device for greeting cards, magazines or the like mounted within the basket to the front vertical section of the seat, the holding device having vertical front, middle and rear panels with sides and with an open top, the holding device also having a horizontal floor located between the front and middle panels, the floor being movable between a lower receipt orientation and an upper discharge orientation and with a finger located adjacent to the front panel for effecting the movement of the floor between its orientations.
It is a further object of the present invention to receive and support greeting cards, magazines, or like paper products separately from other articles within a shopping cart.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to hold certain articles in a shopping cart while precluding contact thereof with other articles.
Lastly, it is an object of the invention to lift greeting cards, magazines or like articles from a shopping cart independent of other articles within the shopping cart.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or by modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a further understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.